When the city administration originally proposed a budget with a $1.4 million deficit, officials suggested a tax increase of about 25 percent to help offset that figure plus a trust fund withdrawal of around $800,000.

However on Monday, council voted to eliminate the tax increase and withdraw additional money from the trust fund. In total, the city will budget to withdraw about $1.4 million from the trust fund to balance the 2013 general-fund budget. There is also a proposal to withdraw about $350,000 from the trust fund to create a capital reserve fund for things like new vehicles and infrastructure.

“I do not want to see a (tax) increase,” Councilman Joseph Hamrick said. “I am totally against that and want it stricken from the books.”

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The majority of council present on Monday agreed with Hamrick and voted to eliminate the tax increase. Councilmen Ed Simpson and Jarrell Brazzle were absent Monday.

In October, council approved a withdrawal from the trust fund for about $2.2 million. The withdrawal came after weeks of hesitancy by the council. Council members said they were approving the withdrawal because the city was near the point of being unable to make its payroll.

President David Collins said at the time that the city had to stop the recent practice of using the trust fund to balance the budget and must get its revenues in line with expenditures.

On Monday, Collins said expenditures have been cut by the administration to the point that there is little else to cut. He said one budget area that still needs work concerns legal fees and litigation, but he said council is taking measures to reduce those costs.

Collins said without room to cut expenditures, revenues have to be made up somewhere and residents are “already hurting” from a tax increase in 2012 to help balance that budget.

“Because of the ills of the past, we are short funds,” Collins said.

A previous proposal to roll trash bills for residents into their real-estate tax bills has also been eliminated by council. Finance Director John Marcarelli said revenues from solid-waste bill collection were higher than budgeted in 2013 and the fund was expected to break even. Council said that since there were not major losses in expected revenue there was no need to change the current system.

City Manager Kirby Hudson previously told council that he was working with the police, fire and non-uniform unions in the city to attempt to get them to agree to a one-year pay freeze and a 5 percent contribution to their health plans. Marcarelli said on Monday that he has not been made aware of any such agreement as of yet.